Igma;

The moment my horse passes through the gates of Gravemaw, I notice how much the world changes.

Not in an unpleasant or hostile way... But in a way I am not used to. My body notices the difference before my mind catches up fully. The cold that I’ve grown to know my entire life... I’m gone.

I left it behind the moment I crossed Howleroot’s borders. Leaving the snow and ice behind me...

But stepping on this kingdom’s soil brings... warmth—gentle, soothing, almost familiarly intrusive. Like a hug to one’s soul. It seeps into my clothes, brushes along my arms, and settles at the back of my neck as though it belongs there.

Like I’m a friend, it’s accepted after just meeting me.

I don’t know exactly how to feel about such a drastic climate change... But it’s not an unpleasant experience either.

My horse slows to a stop, and my nose lifts instinctively to the air. The air carries scents I cannot quite name.

It smells like earth that may have never known snow. It’s woven with the scent of sweet, faint and unfamiliar. There’s smoke... but not the harsh kind from survival fires—the softer kind, controlled, intentional...

Gravemaw is... beautiful...

My horse throts slowly as we approach the insides of the kingdom, and I can’t help but stare with my heart pounding in my chest.

Oh, this place is so different from home. Everything my eyes fall upon, and the feeling that engulfs me... Is welcoming. Warm...

It’s my first time here, and yet I do not feel like an intruder. How can any place feel like that??

I take in everything as I move. The huts are quaint, but pretty... like little sanctuaries for each family... There are colours everywhere...

In the trees, by the roads, in the bushes... on the windows of some huts... so many colourful plants and flowers.

There are deep reds, warm browns, gold threaded into cloth and banners that sway lightly in the breeze. Even the people here carry something different. They are larger, heavier in build, but there is ease in the way they move. Peace and gentleness...

Even as they take me in as a stranger, there is no hostility in their looks. If this is Alpha Koda’s hometown... it explains a lot.

Children dart across the road with careless energy and their voices bright and unguarded in a way that feels foreign to me. Back home... children know that playing is a luxury.

No one runs about or screams too loudly. It’s a constraint we’ve all been taught since birth. A restraint that makes Howleroot seem soulless... while this place... is so... Full of life.

It is a place Alana would love. So, if she’s here... why does she seem so... troubled??

The thought comes wickedly, and it tightens something in my chest, as it dawns on me... She is not in the crowd.

That’s not right. There’s no way the royal family wouldn’t be informed that I have crossed the border. There’s no way she wouldn’t know. And... If she does, there’s no way she wouldn’t have ran down to see me.

Is–is something really wrong? Where is she??

My gaze cuts through the now gathered crowd again, more focused this time, scanning every figure as my heart thuds. Faces blur... movements register and disappear just as quickly.

I am not here for any of that. I’m here for one person... one woman.. And I can’t find her. She should be here.

If she is well, she should be here.

That is what I told myself the entire journey. That if I arrived and saw her standing among these people, breathing easily, untouched, then this... unrest inside me would fade.

Then, after being certain that she’s fine. I would turn around and leave without hesitation. Return to Howler Root. Resume my place as though nothing had ever been wrong. But I may have to beg to take her along with me.

And yet... she is not here.

The pressure beneath my ribs tightens again. It has been there for days now. A vicious pull I could not explain. A sense that something is very wrong.

"Igma." A voice cuts through the air with enough authority to command attention. I pull my horse to a complete stop immediately, as I already know who the voice belongs to.

Alpha Liandria emerges from the crowd, a short distance away with Rhydian in tow, and my heart skips a beat.

I knew she was here. I knew I would meet her. I ought to have prepared what I would say to her, but I didn’t. In the rush and race to get here, I couldn’t... and now... from the look in her eyes, I can tell she’s about to demand answers.

Her presence is as intimidating as usual. A sharp against the warmth of Gravemaw.

I look at my cousin beside her. Silent and observant... his gaze already fixed on me in a way that misses nothing.

Around us, the subtle whispers begin. More people slow down, and more eyes watch us. I can only imagine how they feel.

Three members of the Howleroot royal family in their space. It must be disturbing to them.

I quietly dismount my horse and stand beside it. I bow deeply to my aunt, with my hair falling over my shoulders.

"Alpha." I greet, and when I look back up, I find her eyes narrowed in that stern way that always sent chills down my spine as she raised me.

"You are far from where you are meant to be," she says, and the silence that follows her voice is unbelievable.

Aunt Liandria may be many things... but one thing that she is without a doubt... is a force that is always feared. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

She steps forward, but I will not allow myself to shrink before her today. Not when the reason I came here is so important.

"I had reason to come," I reply, and her gaze sharpens.

"You had a responsibility to stay," she corrects, and I swallow.

"And yet you are here," she continues, with her voice loud just enough for those closest to hear. "Without informing me. Without informing Wilhelm... Without seeking permission." She adds, and I take a deep breath.

Permission??

A faint murmur ripples through the crowd, but I ignore it. They understand what is being said. They understand what it implies. That I am an irresponsible leader, but I honestly don’t care what they think.

I just want one thing.

"I wasn’t going to wait for permission. I would have left whether it was given or not." I say, and her expression hardens.

"You left your kingdom," She says, with her tone cooling dangerously.

"You left the people who depend on you. The position you were entrusted with. And you stand there... telling me you didn’t need permission to? In whose hands then did you leave the fate of the kingdom??" She demands, and I nearly lose all my patience.